Happy Birthday Ellie!!

Ellie turned 3 years old on Saturday.!! She has been excited for months about her upcoming birthday. We got here this bike with training wheels, which she wasn't real sure of at first, but now she is riding it all over the house. It will be fun to get her riding outside when the weather is nice. Bryce is going to try and have the training wheels off this summer. I think that is a bit early, but the boys learned to ride a 2-wheeler when they were 3. We'll see.

We had a party on Saturday night with all her cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles. We had pizza and of course cake and ice cream. Ellie was so excited to open her presents. She was definitely spoiled.

She got a lot of fun things, like play dough, two tea sets, dress up princess shoes, a Barbie Magnadoodle, and some pet shop toys.

Ellie wanted a purple cake. It was a Barbie princess one with purple frosting and pink roses. Here she is blowing out the candles.

Enjoying cake and ice cream with her buddy Sean.

After the party she tried on the new dress her aunt Darcy got her. Darcy loves to buy things for Ellie and it is nice that I haven't had to buy an Easter dress two years in a row now. She has some of her Princess shoes on too that Grandma Clark got her.
Overall, she had a great birthday! Thanks to both of her grandparents for traveling from out of state to be here.

Arrow of Light

Tyler received his Arrow of Light, the highest rank a Cub Scout can achieve. He doesn't turn 11 until June, but he was finished with all the requirements so we decided to let him get it now. Both of his grandparents were here for the weekend so they were able to be there too. I am his Webelos den leader, so it was fun to be able to be apart of the ceremony.

It was actually the Blue and Gold Banquet, so we had lasagna for dinner and then the special ceremony with the Cub Scouts. We painted their faces certain colors that pertained to the ranks they had achieved.
Tyler is accepting a special arrow from the Scoutmaster.

Dad was very proud of him.

Cheese!!

The boys were giving the Cub Scout sign and promise here.

Grandma and Ellie

Brayden being crazy!! Grandpa is in the back there.

This was the hug I got from Tyler. He is not really keen on hugging his mom.

Overall, we had a great night and are very proud of Tyler's accomplishments. He is definitely growing up:(!!

Silly Ellie Girl

Ellie's Grandma Clark needed a picture of her for a b-day gift she is doing for her, so we got out the camera the other night and started taking shots. She was so funny! I think we ended up with one that her grandma could use, but we also ended up with some pretty silly shots of her.

I can't believe that she is turning 3 this month. She is very excited about her upcoming birthday. Bryce and I say all the time, what would we ever do without her. She adds so much joy to our family. We love her to death!!

I love her little smirk here

Here she was doing a little pose.

For some reason she loved opening her mouth and showing her tongue.

Then she started doing acrobat moves.

CHEESE!!

What a sweetie!

Pinewood Derby 2010

This year was Tyler's 3rd and last Pinewood Derby and can I just say yea!! However, now it will be Brayden's turn for the next 3 years. He didn't win of course, our cars never win, but he had fun. He made an Advanced Door truck to support Bryce's business. He wanted to do the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile, but that didn't work. So 4 cars later, he ended up with the truck. He won the award for 'Best Decals'.
Ready, Set, Go!!

I think he took 2nd or 3rd in this heat.

Waiting and watching

It is a bit dirty from all of the graphite he used each heat.

Great times in Billings!

We left for Billings around 6am the day after Christmas. We made it there by 1:00. The drive went pretty well. However, nobody slept! But we only stopped twice. My younger sister, Megan, and her family were already there. They got there a couple of days before Christmas. But we decided to go buy Rock Band for Wii because of how much fun we had on Christmas day at Jim and Brandi's and we had brought our Wii to Billings for all the kids to enjoy. We actually got Band Hero, which is very similar to Rock Band. The kids and adults enjoyed it all week!

The next day was Sunday. My older sister Pam and her family were flying in from Arizona that morning. We all went to church together. My parents actually had to speak in Sacrament meeting. They did a great job. That night we opened the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. We were all spoiled. Bryce and I got a Costco gift card, which is already spent!!

Ellie is checking out her gifts here. She got a darling dress up outfit with a tiara. Check out the cute pictures below.

The boys each got a Wii game and mini bikes to put together. We all enjoyed each other's company that night.

Brittany, Jimmy, and Pam relaxing on the couch.


Luke finishing his 4th bowl of spaghetti. He is a great eater.

Me and Brayden

The Brown family still relaxin'.

Pam was actually sick and got me and dad sick too. But I forgive her.

Ellie and Luke in her new tiara.

Isn't she cute?

The next day we all went sledding. We had a great time. And there were no injuries. I think the temperature was in the 20's, but it wasn't bad. We were all bundled up well.

Grandpa and Grandma with Ellie- great onlookers

Brayden getting ready to head down the hill

Kali- all smiles:)

Megan and Luke

Jim and his boys

Go Tyler Go!!

Ryan and Tyler racing - I believe Tyler won!!

Bryce and Tyler

Sadie Bug

Ryan and Pam

Starting to make trains

Isn't he hot?

Yes, I even went down the hill a few times. Notice Ellie is in between me and Tyler. She wasn't quite sure about sledding.
And last but not least!! Even Grandma tried it out once. Go Mom Go!!

That night after enjoying my mom's homemade chicken noodles over mashed potatoes, we had an auction. My mom had gotten the idea from her sister Ann who does it with her family every Christmas. My mom and dad had bought at least $600 worth of stuff for all ages and types and then we were each given 30 tickets to use to buy what we wanted. Megan's hubby Jim was the auctioneer and did a great job. Everyone had a blast and came away with a lot of stuff. Thanks again Mom and Dad. You guys are awesome!!




We were all listening to the rules for the auction.

Ellie showing some of her new things!!


The boys and Ellie had so much fun playing with their cousins. They played outside in the snow everyday even though it was freezing. They even ventured into the hot tub on a cold night. They were crazy enough to get out and do snow angels in the snow and then jump back in.

This is Tyler, Kali, and Brit. Brayden did it too but he was to fast for me to get a picture of him.

A bit steamy

Brayden thought it was funny how the girls put their hair up in a towel so they showed him how to do it. Hilarious!!

We definitely spent a lot of time eating mom and dad's yummy food. I believe I gained at least 10 pounds over the holidays.

Here he is hard at work. Thanks Dad for cooking so much yummy food, especially the pasta primavera for New Year's Day.

Ellie was his helper with the dishes.


Sadie and Ellie

Ryan, Tyler and Bryce after a great dinner.


Grandpa, Grandma, Pam and Brit after the yummy pasta.


And finally we enjoyed ourselves so much over the holidays, but mainly the opportunity to spend quality time together as a family. Isn't this the cutest thing? Bryce and Ellie having a tea party!!